Experts Say It's Vital That Parents Vaccinate Their Children- Pfizer Child Vaccine FDA Approved
The focus for Americans has now shifted towards children and teenagers receiving their dose of the COVID-19 vaccinations. By the last week of April, cases among children and teens accounted for more than 22% of new cases in the U.S, and there was a 4% increase in the total number of cases in kids. Almost 4 million kids have been diagnosed with Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic.
Vaccines for children could be available for children of all ages as soon as this fall. Pfizer received FDA authorization for use in kids aged 12–15. The company hopes to get the vaccines authorized for kids aged 2–11 by September. Moderna is just behind, having started its phase 2 / 3 clinical trial in children less than 12 years old in March.
Data shows that Covid-19 symptoms aren’t as severe for kids when compared to adults, but officials vehemently state that it doesn’t mean that kids feel no effect from the virus. The American Academy of Pediatrics reports that between 0.1% and 2% of Covid-19 cases affecting those under age 18 require hospitalization. Additionally, more than 250 children in the U.S. have died from the disease in the past year.
Like adults, children that have been infected with the virus can experience other long-term complications such as MIS-C, a multisystem inflammatory syndrome. They can carry and transmit the virus with or without symptoms as well.
“Even if kids don't get that sick, they are vectors for transmission”, says David Wendler, a bioethicist at the NIH. Vaccinating kids is “justified on a public health basis,” he says.
While it has not been communicated by the White House if there will be regulations for school-attending children to be vaccinated, it's not unlikely that your state legislators will require it. “If you’re in a district that has a lot of vaccine requirements already, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Covid-19 vaccine just lumped in with those others,” said Noelle Ellerson Ng, associate director of advocacy and governance for AASA, the School Superintendents Association, a national umbrella group that represents school districts.
